{"product_id":"the-foundation-pit-paperback","title":"The Foundation Pit - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAndrey Platonov\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eRobert Chandler\u003c\/b\u003e (Afterword by), \u003cb\u003eRobert Chandler\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTranslated from the Russian by Robert \u0026amp; Elizabeth Chandler and Olga Meerson\u003cbr\u003eWith notes and an afterword by Robert Chandler and Olga Meerson \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn Andrey Platonov's \u003ci\u003eThe Foundation Pit\u003c\/i\u003e, a team of workers has been given the job of digging the foundation of an immense edifice, a palatial home for the perfect future that, they are convinced, is at hand. But the harder the team works, the deeper they dig, the more things go wrong, and it becomes clear that what is being dug is not a foundation but an immense grave. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Foundation Pit\u003c\/i\u003e is Platonov's most overtly political book, written in direct response to the staggering brutalities of Stalin's collectivization of Russian agriculture. It is also a literary masterpiece. Seeking to evoke unspeakable realities, Platonov deforms and transforms language in pages that echo both with the alienating doublespeak of power and the stark simplicity of prayer. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis English translation is the first and only one to be based on the definitive edition published by Pushkin House in Moscow. It includes extensive notes and, in an appendix, several striking passages deleted by Platonov. Robert Chandler and Olga Meerson's afterword discusses the historical context and style of Platonov's most haunted and troubling work.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrey Platonov\u003c\/b\u003e (1899--1951) was born in a village near the Russian town of Voronezh. He began to publish poems and stories in the 1920s and worked as a land reclamation expert in central Russia, where he was a witness to the ravages of the Great Famine. In the 1930s Platonov fell into disfavor with the Soviet government and his writing disappeared from sight. NYRB Classics published a new translation of \u003ci\u003eSoul and Other Stories\u003c\/i\u003e in 2007. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobert Chandler\u003c\/b\u003e has translated selections of Sappho and Apollinaire and is the editor of \u003ci\u003eRussian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida\u003c\/i\u003e. His translations from Russian include Pushkin's \u003ci\u003eDubrovsky\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Captain's Daughter\u003c\/i\u003e, Leskov's \u003ci\u003eLady Macbeth of Mtsensk\u003c\/i\u003e, Vasily Grossman's \u003ci\u003eLife and Fate\u003c\/i\u003e and Hamid Ismailov's \u003ci\u003eThe Railway\u003c\/i\u003e. His co-translations of Andrey Platonov have won prizes in the UK and the US. His \u003ci\u003eAlexander Pushkin\u003c\/i\u003e is published by Hesperus in their series of 'Brief Lives'. He teaches part time at Queen Mary, University of London. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eElizabeth Chandler\u003c\/b\u003e is a co-translator of several volumes of Platonov and of Pushkin's \u003ci\u003eThe Captain's Daughter.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eOlga Meerson\u003c\/b\u003e teaches at Georgetown University and is the author of \u003ci\u003eDostoevsky's Taboos\u003c\/i\u003e (in English) and\u003ci\u003e Platonov's Poetic of Re-Familiarization \u003c\/i\u003e(in Russian\u003ci\u003e). \u003c\/i\u003eShe is a co-translator of Platonov's \u003ci\u003eSoul and Other Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, which, in 2004, was awarded the AATSEEL prize for \"best translation from a Slavonic language\".\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 208\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 7.9 x 4.8 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 21, 2009\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47399173685426,"sku":"9781590173053","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/35a76dcc341816c11d6a8d73424afc80.webp?v=1778066460","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/the-foundation-pit-paperback","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}